To ask the Minister of Justice what initiatives are currently in place within his Department to address the fear of crime among older people and to increase confidence and peace of mind regarding their safety.

The safety of older people is an important issue for my Department, and this is emphasised by the inclusion of measures to address fear of crime within the Executive’s Programme for Government and my Department’s Community Safety Strategy, “Building Safer, Shared and Confident Communities”.

The multi-agency Older Persons Delivery Group chaired by my Department has developed an action plan which contains a range of measures being taken forward by the relevant organisations to tackle fear of crime among older people.

My Department has been working with Age Sector Platform, also a member of the Delivery Group, over recent years to tackle a range of issues affecting the safety of older people and their fear of crime. In particular, they have been working with their members to research why older people are fearful of becoming a victim of crime. This culminated in the development of a “Feel Safe” guide, which includes crime prevention advice and information on organisations that can help older people to feel safer. I understand that local PSNI officers have been distributing this booklet to older people who have been victims of crime.

Over the coming months, Age Sector Platform will be holding workshops on a regional basis to promote the messages in this guide and to address the concerns that older people have around crime. These workshops will include a range of advice on how they can avoid becoming victims of crime and representation from key providers of advice.

In addition, a range of initiatives are run at a local level by Policing and Community Safety Partnerships, such as the film resource pack developed by Derry City and Strabane PCSP.